The 2024 NHL Awards took place on Thursday night in Las Vegas. All of the game’s best players came together to recognize the 2023-24 season for certain individuals.
After one of the best seasons in NHL history, there was some recognition needed for certain people. Although hockey players are as humble as they come, it is great to see them recognized for their greatness every once in a while.
A couple of awards were announced before the event took place. Rick Tocchet won the Jack Adams Award for the best NHL coach. Sasha Barkov won the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward.
Jaccob Slavin won the Lady Byng for the most gentlemanly player. Connor Ingram won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey. Jim Nill won the GM of the year. Anders Lee won the King Clancy Award. Finally, Jacob Trouba won the Messier Leadership Award.
The 2024 NHL season was capped off by a very fun NHL Awards ceremony
There were also awards given to players who earned them with their stats. Auston Matthews won the Rocket Richard Trophy for leading the league in goals. Nikita Kucherov won the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in scoring. Connor Hellebuyck won the Jennings Trophy for giving up the least amount of goals.
Plenty of awards were also handed out at the show as well. It started with the Ted Lindsay Award which goes to the player that is voted the best by his peers. Nathan MacKinnon took it home over Auston Matthews and Nikita Kucherov.
The second award was the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Connor Bedard took it home and that felt like a lock. Brock Faber and Luke Hughes were the other nominees.
The Norris Trophy was handed out to the top defenseman in the NHL. Quinn Hughes took it home over Roman Josi and Cale Makar. He is the first Vancouver Canucks defenseman ever to win it.
After that, Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie. Sergei Bobrovsky and Thatcher Demko were nominees alongside him.
The final award handed out was the Hart Trophy which is the most prestigious individual award you can win in this league. It goes to the player voted most valuable to his team. The nominees were Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and Nathan MacKinnon.
Nathan MacKinnon won the award for the first time in his career. This is huge for him as he has won just about everything in the NHL. He should be proud of this moment as he finally was recognized with this award after years of being one of the best players in the world.
This was a great night in the NHL as the best players in the world were honored. Everyone who won and was nominated should be proud of their seasons.